


Choices

by shanachie



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Choices made in the heat of the moment, Discussion of Said Death, Spoilers: Up through 115
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 21:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6873337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanachie/pseuds/shanachie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard has made some hard choices in his life, this is just one more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LOT Fans](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=LOT+Fans).



> I am firmly on the Isle of De-Nile right now. This is my way of working out my feelings from last week’s awesome and then horrible episode. That being said, it is a WIP and I am not going to get it finished before this coming Thursday so it is probably going to be Joss’ed when the episode airs. Dragonydreams and I have worked most of it out, I just need to get my act together, but I have been distracted by oooh shiny! And having other things to do so ya know… life. I will try not to leave y’all hanging too long though.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.  
>  **Second Disclaimer** Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.  
> 

YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE, LEONARD SNART.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. He wasn't supposed to go out in a ball of fire. That was Mick's thing, not his. And he certainly wasn't supposed to wake up to bright lights and loud voices.

"I made my choice," he responded. "There are no strings on me."

The light brightened for a minute before coalescing into a... being. He wasn't going to call it a heavenly anything because no way was he headed there. Not after forty some years of shitty decisions. "Choose," it instructed him.

Leonard blinked as visions assaulted him.

Lisa bent over a crib as she reached inside to lift the occupant out.

A gap-toothed smile underneath recognizable blonde hair and even more familiar blue eyes.

Mick shoulder to shoulder with him and laughing with pure joy.

Cards being laid down.

The skyline of Central City.

A brighter lighter than before.

"The choice is yours, Leonard Snart."


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard groaned, refusing to open his eyes. Everything hurt. Why did everything hurt?

He lay on the cold concrete, trying to ignore the freezing temperatures. His code name might be 'Captain Cold' but he really didn't enjoy being chilly.

The last thing he remembered was staring down Zaman Druce after Sara had laid a memorable kiss on him.

Sitting up, he groaned again, prying his eyes open. After a minute, his vision adjusted and he recognized one of the safe houses he and Mick crashed in periodically. It had been a few years since they’d been in _this_ specific safe house though. Which explained the cold and the lack of amenities. It didn’t explain his lack of clothes though. He needed to have a talk with whoever returned him to this plane of existence.

If he remembered correctly… he crossed the room after he hauled himself to his feet. There should be a change of clothes, ID, and a weapon… right. About. Here. He popped open the false wall in the bookshelf and removed ID for him, Mick, and Lisa, along with a 9 millimeter. Not his first choice for a weapon, but it would do until he discovered where and _when_ he was. Digging a little deeper revealed a phone and charger. At least that told him he was most likely after the Y2K debacle. He hadn’t started stashing phones in the safe houses until after that.

He plugged in the phone while he went in search of a change of clothes. A few minutes later, he was clad in jeans and a sweater, boots back on his feet and feeling much more like himself.

His first instinct was to call Lisa. To check and make sure she was all right. Even now his first thought was for her. But if Mick had gotten to her, had told her what he’d done, he didn’t want to scare her. So he didn’t dial her, even though it physically pained him not to call her immediately.

Instead he tucked the phone into his pocket and the gun into his waistband and headed out into Central City to see if he could pinpoint his location.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Leonard needed to do was discover when he was. He’d already established ‘where’. The safe house told him that somehow he’d ended up back in Central City, but not ‘when’. The safe house had also provided enough cash to see him through a week if he was frugal, but he was going to need to contact Lisa or Mick soon.

A short walk took him to a section of town he recognized more than casually and with a parking deck that wouldn’t miss a car (or two) if he needed to _borrow_ one. Leaving it for now, he headed farther down the street to the newsstand he could already see.

“Help ya, buddy?” the older man behind the counter asked.

“ _Central City Picture News_?” Leonard asked, handing over a dollar and accepting the paper. His eyes immediately skipped to the header and he breathed a sigh when he saw the date. It looked like it was just a few days after he and Mick had stepped onto the Waverider for the first time.

Flipping the paper open, he browsed it as he headed away. Next stop? S.T.A.R. Labs. They would most likely have a gadget or two that would help him out.

 

 

Cisco Ramon had seen a lot of strange things since he’d started vibing. He decided as he hurried into the main cortex of S.T.A.R. Labs that the weirdest thing he’d ever vibed was Captain Cold as the villain was holding something in place before disappearing into something not unlike the breaches.

He’d been debating all day whether he would tell anyone what he saw, but since he’d been alone most of the day, the opportunity to spill hadn’t come up.

Cisco came up short when he entered the cortex and found someone standing in the center of the room. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” he demanded, starting to scramble back out the way he came.

The figure turned, drawling, “Don’t tell me I’ve been gone so long you’ve forgotten me. And here I thought I was special.”

“Cold,” Cisco breathed. “Step back. I’ll call the Flash.”

“Really?” Leonard stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “What’s _Barry_ going to do?”

“He’ll… he’ll…” Cisco backed away as Leonard advanced on him. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice squeaking on the last word.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I want one of your toys.”

“Hey, no way.” Cisco crossed his arms and glared at Leonard. “You aren’t stealing anything else.”

“It’s not stealing if you give it to me, Ramon,” Leonard explained. He’d reached the scientist by this point and now he nudged the younger man in the direction of the storage room. “How’s my sister?”

Cisco scrambled, trying to keep ahead of Leonard as the older man herded him out of the cortex. “Your sister? Why would I know anything about your sister?”

“Don’t play stupid, you’re too smart for that. I know you’ve been sniffing around her.” When Cisco looked terrified, Leonard smirked. “Good. That’s the way I want you to react. I don’t want you to forget who she or I am.”

“That would be rather difficult considering she still goes on stealing sprees.”

Leonard’s smirk grew at that news. “That’s my girl.”

“Not something to be proud of,” Cisco attempted to scold him. “Also.” He turned around, intending to say more, and jumped, letting out a screech when he realized Leonard was mere inches from him. “What? Why? Back off, man!”

“I need something from you,” Leonard said, ignoring his directives.

“You didn’t break the Cold Gun, did you?”

“It was fine the last time I saw it,” Leonard told him. He shook his head. “I need a way around Central City without a lot of people seeing me.”  


“What do you mean the last time you saw it? Where is it?” Cisco’s eyes involuntarily darted down to where the holster normally rested on Leonard’s leg. “Where’s the gun? Did you lose it? And what makes you think I have something that’ll do that?”

“Do you ever shut up?” Leonard asked.

“Terrifying situations tend to make me more talkative.”

“A way around town,” Leonard reminded him.

“Right. Right.” Cisco scanned the shelves in front of him. “Did you call your sister?”

“Not your business.”

Cisco didn’t respond, reaching up, and snagging a wristband off the closest shelf. “Here.”

Leonard took it, examining it before strapping it onto his left wrist. “What’s it do?”

“Teleportation. Or it’s supposed to.”

“ _Ramon_ ,” Leonard drawled. “What happens if it doesn’t work?”

“Nothing.” When Leonard continued to stare at him, Cisco insisted, “Nothing. I swear. You just. Stay.”

“All right then.” Leonard examined it for another minute, then pulled his sweater sleeve over it. “Don’t tell Lisa I’m back.”

“Are you crazy?! She’ll kill me!”

“Not my problem.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven’t been updating this very regularly. I thought having it posted might get me to update it, but it doesn’t really seem like many people are reading it. I’ll try to see if I can finish it up in the next few days/week or two. I’ve just been distracted.

Cisco breathed a sigh of relief after Snart disappeared from S.T.A.R. Labs. He didn’t care what Barry Allan said, that man was a menace. With that in mind, he dug his phone out, quickly dialing a familiar number. “Barry, you aren’t going to believe who I just saw,” he said when it was answered.

Once he’d convinced Barry that he’d really had an encounter with Captain Cold, Cisco hung up and stared at his phone. He _could_ call Lisa Snart. He had her number and he could alert her that her brother was back. But was it really any of his business?

 

Leonard found a quiet spot to hole up once he’d left S.T.A.R. Labs, pulling the wristband off his arm and running his fingers over the buttons. He hadn’t dared quiz Cisco on how to actually _run_ the thing, but he didn’t think it would take him long to figure out. While he wanted to immediately go see Lisa, he needed to find out if the Waverider had returned to this time and given her the news of his demise. Besides that, he was beginning to feel unarmed without his Cold Gun. He’d had it for too long to feel like a regular gun was enough of a weapon.

Deciding on his course of action, he’d see if the Waverider was here first and if he could find out where his gun was along with finding out what the story was with Mick and Lisa, Leonard strapped the band back on his wrist.

His best guess on the location of the Waverider was the empty lot where they’d first been picked up. After studying the buttons on the band for another minute, he managed to program the destination in. “Here goes… everything,” he murmured before triggering the teleporter.

 

 

Leonard doubled over, dry-heaving and glad he hadn’t eaten anything in the last few hours. “Don’t eat before teleporting. Check,” he groaned when he finally got his stomach under control again.

Straightening up, his ice blue eyes scanned the empty lot. Or seemingly empty lot.

He paused, his eyes narrowing as they picked up slight imperfections in the ground and surrounding area. Moving towards the biggest area, he spoke to the empty air, “Gideon? Are you there?”

For a moment, he thought he’d guessed wrong, but then a door shimmered into sight and a familiar voice answered, “Mr. Snart, it appears rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated.”

“Rumors of my demise were greatly… something,” Leonard agreed. “Is the team here?”

“No. The team has gone to visit their relatives and friends in this time period.”

“And Captain Hunter?”

“Captain Hunter is not present, but I am not aware of his current whereabouts.”

“Peachy.” Leonard stepped carefully through the doorway, not sure if Gideon would protest him entering the Waverider. “Did Rory bring my gun back?”

“Mr. Rory returned from the Occulus with both his heat gun and your cold gun, but at the moment neither are aboard.”

Leonard’s step stuttered at that news, but he continued on towards his bunk. He’d have to make his next stop Mick then to see about reacquiring his gun. Since he was already at the Waverider, he’d see if there was anything worth salvaging in his quarters.

Reaching the room, he pressed his hand against the palm reader. When nothing happened, he asked, “Gideon? Why isn’t my door opening?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Snart, but your prints were removed after your death.”

“Gideon,” he drawled. “You know it’s me? Correct?” When the AI didn’t respond, he took it for assent. “Good. Then let me into my room.” He paused when the door began to slowly slide open. “And let me know if someone on the team returns.”

Entering the room, he began to search it quickly. He didn’t keep much in the way of personal effects in the room, but he was able to change into clothes he preferred. And he dug up some cash that he’d stashed away.

He was just checking the last of his hidey-holes when Gideon’s voice broke in, “Mr. Snart? Captain Hunter has returned.”

“And he’s the last person I want to see,” Leonard said. Straightening up from where he was searching under his bunk, he flipped open the teleporter bracelet and tapped in a new sequence.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to apologize to angelskuupio for this one. I’m so used to sending both her and dragonydreams everything, that I keep automatically including her when I send these chapters. And she hasn’t read the beginning. So oops?

Leonard appeared not far from one of the newer safe houses this time. If Mick had returned to 2016, and the presence of the Waverider seemed to suggest that, it was likely that this was where he’d chosen to hole up. Leonard didn’t doubt that Mick would choose to go back to _some_ of his old habits.

The thief stopped outside the door to the actual house, just hoping he wasn’t going to be walking into a trap.

The house looked abandoned on first glance, but Leonard could see signs that _someone_ was in residence. Mounting the steps, he quickly picked the lock and let himself in.

He was met with a punch to the face.

If he’d considered it before opening the door, he would have expected Mick to be prepared for someone to break into the house. “Are you done?” he asked, pushing himself away from the wall where he’d ended up.

“I don’t know what the hell you are, but get out of this house.”

“Nice to see you, too, Mick.” Leonard lowered the hands he’d raised automatically now that he was sure a second punch wasn’t coming and looked at his partner.

“Who the fuck are you?” Mick growled.

“I know that stupid is just an act, Rory,” Leonard answered. “And we’ve been friends since juvie.”

“You’re dead.”

“So I keep being told.” Leonard motioned towards the back of the house. “You going to let me in?”

Mick glared at him, then shuffled forward, and poked him in the shoulder. “Don’t feel like a ghost.”

Leonard glared at him in response. “I’m pretty sure I’m _not_.”

“Good.” Mick wound up and punched him again. “I told you not to knock me out again.”

“I probably deserved that,” Leonard admitted.

Mick’s eyes narrowed. “You _definitely_ deserved that. What happened?”

“If I had any idea…” Leonard shook his head. “Do you have my gun?”

“It would serve you right if I told you that it had gotten broken.” Mick turned, leading the way into the main living part of the safe house. “But yeah. I have it. You want it back?”

“Damn right.”

Mick opened a box, revealing both guns packed carefully into it. “Might want to check it, make sure it’s not damaged.”

“What happened with Savage?” Leonard asked as he lifted the gun free and began to give it a visual once over.

Mick dropped into a chair, beginning to describe the final battle, including his own role of setting Savage on fire in the 1950s.

Leonard smirked at his description. “Glad you got to be useful. You talked with Lisa?”

“She’s in Keystone for a couple of days. Should be back tonight. I didn’t have the heart to tell her you were gone.”

“So what _did_ you tell her?”

“That you were in Star City with Blondie. You’re the one that ran off with the shitty cover story.”

“And where is our illustrious Ms. Lance? Is she actually in Star City?”

“She was.” Mick locked eyes with Leonard. “She’s bonding with the heroes around here. Her sister’s dead. Killed by some guy named Darkh. Hunter wouldn’t let her go back in time to save the woman so Sara’s a bit… touchy.” Mick flicked a finger. “Her and Haircut have been popping in and out of S.T.A.R. Labs and just generally hanging out.”

Leonard realized how close he’d probably come to running into Sara when he’d visited Cisco. “I’ll have to see about surprising her at the labs then.” He pushed his sleeve up, showing Mick the wristband. “I dunno if this’ll take more than one person.”

“You got a plan?”

“Don’t I always?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took me so long to finish, I got distracted by some other things (I told you I had a shiny problem) and then I had a couple of things happen personally—mostly good, but a bit not so much. Anyway… things seemed to have settled down. And I got this finished, so I’m uploading the last three chapters now! I hope you enjoy it!

“So what’s the plan?” Mick asked, picking up his own gun.

“Well,” Leonard drawled. “I do need to see an assassin about a kiss.” He tilted his cold gun, looking it over.

A slow, evil grin spread across Mick’s face. “So we’re going to crash the lab?”

“I was thinking more of making our own invitations.” Leonard’s fingers stroked over his gun, glad to have it back in his possession. “Why don’t you tell me more about what happened with Savage? And how you got back to Central City. And finally why our _beloved_ captain didn’t go save Sara’s sister.”

Mick leaned back in the seat he’d taken when Leonard started talking. The fingers of one gloved hand toyed with the latches on the case the guns had been stored in. Meanwhile the other hand cradled his own gun. “Savage is dead.”

“You’ve said that. You also said you were able to burn him.”

“After you blew yourself up.” Mick glared at him. “And don’t think we won’t have another _discussion_ about you cold cocking me.”

Leonard waved it off. “Extenuating circumstances. I wasn’t going to let you blow yourself up.”

“But it was okay for you to do it?”

“Mick.”

Mick growled. “Fine.” He slumped back in the chair. “After. Dickface brought us back here and said there was nothing more to do. Turned out it was five fucking months later. Your girl went to see her father and found out her sister was dead.”

Leonard frowned. “I checked the paper when I woke up. It was only a few days after we left on the Waverider.”

Mick shook his head. “It’s been five months, Snart. I dunno if you got an old paper or what. But…” He dug a phone out of his pocket, tossing it to Leonard who caught it one handed. “I promise it’s been five months.”

Leonard stared at the face of the phone for a minute before dropping it on a nearby table. “I don’t… How?”

Mick shrugged. “Maybe you were still under the influence of the Occulus. I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“No. Yes.” Leonard refocused on what they’d been talking about prior to him discovering the change in date. “Sara’s sister is dead?”

“Yeah, killed when the Arrow guy was after some magical unicorn. Hunter said if we went back to rescue big sis, then the sister would die and so would Sara and her dad. He wasn’t willing to go back because of that.”

Leonard winced. “I’m guessing Sara didn’t take that well?”

Mick grinned at the memory. “Put a knife to Hunter’s throat. Threatened him. Your girl has some balls on her, Len. Might want to keep that in mind.”

The thief rolled his eyes. “Would you please stop calling her ‘my girl’?”

“Nope. It’s too much fun to see your aggravation.”

Ignoring his comment, Leonard asked, “Savage?”

“Killed across three times and gone for good. Hunter almost blew himself up. _Sara_ went with the Kid and the Prof. I went with Haircut. Kid said Sara called herself a Time Master and handed out quite the ass kicking.”

“ _How_ did Hunter almost blow himself up?”

“Tried to fly his ship into the sun.” Mick shook his head. “Stupid son of a bitch.”

Deciding that wasn’t important, Leonard asked, “So how did you get back here?”

“Hunter dropped us back off. Said we should spend some time with our families and friends.” Mick looked at the floor. “Wasn’t really anyone I wanted to see.”

Leonard understood that since if he’d been in Mick’s position, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to see anyone other than Lisa. Leonard sank deeper into his chair, considering everything he’d learned. “So you think Sara is visiting S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“She talked about meeting up with Cisco. Wanted to thank him in person for her leathers. And visit with the others.” Mick eyed him for a minute. “If we’re going to crash the lab, I suppose that means I can’t admit I know who the Flash is.”

“I did promise to keep his identity a secret,” Leonard reminded him.

“It’s not like you told me,” Mick pointed out. “We can’t help it that Ray’s got a big mouth plus the rest of the not so secret super squad not having secret identities, it wasn’t difficult to figure out.”

“True. But we’ll keep your knowledge between us for now. Might come in handy later. For now, I do want to see how our assassin is doing. Then when Lisa gets back, we can check in on her.”

Mick nodded. He might not feel the same way about Sara that Leonard did, but since his return to the team, he’d found that he enjoyed his time spent with the blonde. “So what’s the plan?”

Leonard tapped the band on his wrist, drawing Mick’s attention to it, and began to lay out his idea.

Mick’s grin widened when Leonard finished. “Sounds like you’ve got most of the bases covered. And a plan for Lisa,” he said.

Leonard shrugged. “You said you didn’t tell her so she’s not going to be too worried about me. I’d like to see the others, steal my kiss. We’ll see what happens after that.”

Mick caressed his gun, which had remained close at hand the entire time they’d talked. “And you think we’re gonna need the guns for this?”

“I think we might need to… break into S.T.A.R. Labs,” Leonard explained. He flashed his wrist again. “This thing seems able to track whoever I want, but it doesn’t land me right next to them.” He hefted the gun Mick had returned to him. “So we might need the guns to break in.”

“When do we leave?”

Motioning the bulkier man towards him, Leonard bared his wrist. “Right now.”

 

 

_Author’s Note: Yes I am ignoring the end when Mick goes to see Leonard in 2013 and also when Rex Tyler/Hourman comes to get them. Those parts just do not work for my story. And since I actually started this before 116 aired, I feel like I can ignore them. #handwave #author’s prerogative #I live in my world and I like it_


	7. Chapter 7

Mick bent over, heaving up the food he’d eaten earlier that day, after they both caught their balance. The only difference Leonard noticed in the transport this time was the landing was a bit rougher. He glanced down at his wrist as the band let out a high pitched squeal, seeing the numbers had zeroed out. Tapping it, he finally got the noise to stop.

Turning his attention back to his partner, he discovered the pyro wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Why aren’t you puking?” Mick demanded.

“This isn’t my first trip today,” Leonard pointed out. “And there’s nothing left.”

Mick eyed him for a minute, finally deciding it was the truth. “So where are we going?”

“I didn’t see Sara earlier so either she wasn’t here or I didn’t make it far enough in.”

Mick hoisted his gun, switching it on in the same motion. “Shall I knock?”

“Let’s try a little subtly first.”

The expression Mick gave him wasn’t happy, but the older man followed along as Leonard made his way to the back door, pulling a set of lock picks and a screwdriver out of his pocket. Mick’s expression soon changed to one of delight. “I like the way you think.”

“You generally do,” Leonard agreed as he fit the picks into the door lock.

Mick leaned against the wall, taking his lighter out of his pocket, and flicking it on as Leonard began to work. A minute later, the younger man straightened up and pushed the door open. Mick tucked his lighter away again, brushing Leonard aside so he could enter first. “I’ve got this part.”

“Alarm,” Leonard reminded him.

“I said I got it.”

“Mick.”

“Len.” Mick hefted his gun. “You said I’d get to use it.”

Leonard motioned. “All right. But just the alarm box.”

“No faith, Snart.”

“Evidence from the past, Rory.”

Mick glared in response and aimed for the alarm box, triggering his gun. Leonard had just enough time to lift his goggles into place before flames spewed out, igniting the wall and the box mounted on it.

When Mick turned the flame off, the box was melted slag, and Leonard quickly iced it over so the heat and smoke didn’t set off the fire alarms. “I’m liking this plan so far,” Mick commented as he lowered his gun.

“Let’s get moving before they notice the alarm is off,” Leonard told him. “I don’t want to get caught before we do what we came for.”

“What _you_ came for.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want to see my ass get handed to me if Sara doesn’t want to be kissed?”

Mick considered the question. “Yeah. That will be pretty funny. Fine. Lead the way.” When Leonard started to move deeper into S.T.A.R. Labs, Mick asked, “How are you going to find her without your magic gadget?”

“I figured I’d check the cortex first and then try the main labs. If she’s not there…” Leonard smirked. “We can always borrow one of the members of Team Flash.”

“Lead the way.” Mick motioned for him to start moving.

The two men ghosted through the hallways, leaving no trace of their presence, and making hardly a sound as they moved. A couple of times they had to duck out of sight of cameras that Leonard didn’t remember from the last few times he was here, but they were easy enough to avoid. Leonard vaguely considered that he might want to give them a few tips about security. If Barry was going to keep working out of S.T.A.R. Labs, sooner or later someone was going to track him down, if they hadn’t already.

Leonard drew them up short just before entering the cortex. Sara was present just as he had suspected, but she wasn’t alone.

Mick peered around the younger thief asking, “How does this change your plan?”

Leonard studied the group, taking stock of where everyone was. It seemed like every other second Barry was somewhere else, but the rest of Team Flash were in their usual spots, sitting at the consoles, although Cisco continually spun his chair from side to side. He noticed Felicity sitting between the two; she must have come back from Star City with Sara for a visit. Sara was alternating between leaning on a console and turning to talk to the three scientists behind her.

“I think this just makes it more interesting,” Leonard commented.

Throwing back his shoulders, he strode purposefully into the main room. He smirked as his appearance froze the occupants of the room, allowing him to make it halfway across the room before anyone reacted.

“Snart,” Cisco blurted out.

“Ramon,” Leonard drawled. “Remind me I still have words for you later. I’ve got another mission right now.” He continued moving, not waiting for Cisco to do more than stutter, reaching for Sara as he got within range. “You didn’t give me a chance to respond when you kissed me at the Occulus,” he informed her.

“Did you have a response?” she asked.

Slipping his hand under her hair, he cupped the back of her neck, angling his head so he could press his lips against hers. Deliberately, cautiously, he nibbled at her full lips, slipping his tongue inside when she opened for him.

“That I’m one hell of a thief,” he whispered to her when he let her breathe, “and I’m more than ready for you… and me. Together.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to say a special thank you to dragonydreams for all her help with this story. She has done a fabulous job. And a couple of times she read a chapter more than once. Plus she listened to me whining about the characters and how annoying they were more than once. So thank you! Best thing I’ve done in a long while was saying yes when you suggested the mutual friending!

Leonard rubbed his face, ignoring the babble around him as he worked his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken. His assassin had a hell of a right hook.

He’d let go of her as soon as she’d swung, knowing what she was going for, and figuring he owed her at least that one shot. Now he stepped back out of her range though as she glared up at him. “Please don’t,” he asked. “Mick already took a couple of shots.”

Sara looked at the pyro, who was standing by the door, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “He deserved it,” Mick grumbled.

“How did you…?” Sara reached out to poke Leonard as if unable to believe he was there and alive, despite having both kissed and punched him.

“I don’t know.” Leonard shifted awkwardly. “One minute I was telling those time bastards off and the next… a voice was asking me to make a choice and then… I woke up in one of the safe houses.”

“You have no idea how you got here?” Barry asked, popping up right in front of Leonard. Sara started, still not used to his quick movements. “Sorry,” he blurted.

“Not a clue,” Leonard confirmed. “And I don’t really care.” He slipped an arm around Sara, giving her plenty of time to shake him off. “I’m done with people jerking me around.” Nudging Sara, he got her moving towards the door. “I’m done with this so called hero business.” He waved over his shoulder as he guided Sara away. “Oh, Cisco, I think I broke your toy.”

Cisco’s sputtering followed them out the door as he gathered up Mick and the three headed out of S.T.A.R. Labs. “Now what?” Sara asked.

“Now, I need to see my sister,” Leonard said. “Even though Mick didn’t tell her I was gone, _I_ need to see her. And then? I’ve always wanted to see Iceland. Interested in going with me?”

“And how are we going to pay for it?” Sara asked.

Leonard smiled. “I might have made a few investments.”

Sara laughed. “Of course you did.”

Mick shook his head. “Can you two be sappy later?” He looked around. “How are we getting out of here?”

“I can give you a lift,” a cheerful voice said.

The three spun around to find Barry, dressed in his Flash costume, standing beside them.

“Does that ever get less creepy?” Sara asked. She tucked the baton she’d drawn in her surprise back away and allowed the tension to fade from her body from the surprise. 

“No,” Leonard admitted. “And no, no lift, Flash.”

A grin quirked across Barry’s face. “All right then. But…”

“Our deal was no killing,” Leonard said. “We never said anything about ‘borrowing’ a car.”

Barry opened his mouth as if he was going to protest, but then thought better of it. Instead he said, “I told you there was good in you, Snart.”

Leonard glared in response. “I think you’re overextending the extent of my helpfulness.”

“You sacrificed yourself for the world,” Barry insisted.

Leonard shook his head. “I didn’t sacrifice myself for anything. I didn’t want… You know what. It’s none of your business. Mick? Sara? We’re out of here.”

The two named followed without a thought and Leonard waited, holding his breath to see if Barry would follow them. Instead there was a whooshing sound as the hero took off in the other direction. Sara stopped after they’d walked a few paces, drawing Leonard’s attention when he noticed she wasn’t moving with them.

“What’s wrong, Blondie?” Mick asked.

“So this is it?” Sara asked, staring at Leonard. “You just want to leave everything behind? Forget the whole idea of helping people?”

“What has helping anyone ever done for me?” Leonard asked. He tensed up, waiting for her response.

Sara stared back, as if unsure, before answering, “Time off. I can understand that. Especially after what happened. I’m not ready to go right back out there either, but we all need to talk about this before we walk away from the team.” She held up a hand to stop either man from protesting. “I don’t mean Rip. I think we can all walk away from him easily. But Ray? The professor and Jax? Even Kendra?”

Leonard nodded, seeing Mick doing the same out of the corner of his eye. “Fine,” he agreed, hearing Mick echo it. (And Leonard was glad they were back in sync again, that the last of Chronos seemed to have disappeared while he was floating in the time stream.) “But a vacation first?”

Sara linked her arm in his, secure now that Leonard was willing to be agreeable. Meanwhile, Mick started naming places they could visit. “But we’re starting in Keystone,” Leonard said after the list had gotten six or seven cities long. “I need to check on Lisa.”

The other two laughed. “I thought that was a given, Boss,” Mick replied.

Letting the laughter of his future (possibly) lover and his best friend wash over him, Leonard led the way down the street. He’d clearly made the right choice.


End file.
